Ammo bill could affect local economy

A ban on all lead-based ammunition threatens to reduce hunting, and with it, the money hunters bring to rural economies, according to critics of the measure.

Assembly Bill 711, if passed, will make California the first state to ban all lead-based ammunition. As of last week, the bill was in a holding position, pending being brought before the Senate. The bill was proposed as an effort to reduce lead poisoning to wildlife. Rural areas would be impacted greatly if AB 711 passed, said State Sen. Jim Nielsen. "This bill is another of many, many steps taken over many years to diminish or even eliminate hunting in California," he said.

The goal of this bill is not about stopping lead poisoning, it is about stopping hunting, Nielsen said.

"What would it do to the local economy? Ask those who hunt," he said. "Ask the game and fishing supply stores. Ask the guides how much money this form of recreation brings into our area — our state — period."

If passed as it is now, the bill would be devastating, said Buzz Huntington, co-owner of Huntington Sportsman Store in Oroville.

"There is simply a lot of people that won't deal with it; they will just say 'Well, I'm not going to go hunting this year,'" he said.

Ammunition for .22-caliber rifles is what Huntington thinks will be impacted the most by the bill because it all has lead in it, he said.

Grandfathers who have taken their grandsons hunting for years are not going to be able to do so anymore because they won't be able to afford ammunition because the price will double, he said.

As a business, Huntington Sportsman Store is adaptable, he said. While they mainly carry lead bullets now, they will be able to start carrying copper-cored ammunition.

Lead-based ammunition is cheaper and more common than other options, said Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, who spoke at the Chico Tea Party meeting last week at the Elks Lodge.

Elimination of these lower-cost options, coupled with a federal ban on all "armor piercing bullets," that has already made using most non-lead bullets illegal, could lead to the end of hunting in California, he said.

The money that hunters are charged for hunting permits and licenses goes into game management, wildlife biologists and research, Paredes said. Taking away lead ammunition will take away those funds, affecting more than just hunting.

Non-lead ammunition is about three times the price of base-level lead ammunition, he said. The price for basic lead bullets is between $16 and $24 a box. The cost of non-lead bullets is equivalent to premium lead bullets, at about $60 to $100 a box.

The Audubon Society, which is a co-sponsor of AB711, noted that many hunters already use non-lead-based ammunition.

Non-lead ammunition is already used for water-foul hunting and many hunters use it for their other needs as well, making it already in high demand and readily available, said Garrison Frost, California Audubon Society director of marketing and communication.

Lead-based ammunition has been proven by scientific research to kill California Condors, a species that only has a population of about 400 worldwide. Condors feed off dead game and can be poisoned by the lead from bullets which spreads throughout animals' bodies when shot, and remains in their carcass. One lead-based bullet can spread lead into a dozen Condors.

Oroville's Huntington thinks the bill is poorly written. In California Condor habitat, it makes sense not to use lead ammunition, but it is not necessary for Northern California, he said.

"It has a heavy impact on us in rural areas," he said. "In Los Angeles, who cares, the majority of people don't own guns, the majority of people don't want to own guns, and they are living in their own world that does not relate to rural communities."

Condors are not the only species affected, Frost said. Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, morning doves and ducks are among those also dying from lead poisoning.

Research also shows microscopic amounts of lead makes its way into humans when people eat meat that was hunted with lead bullets.

In March, a group of scientists compiled and signed a consensus report to show the risks of lead ammunition to birds and humans alike.

The research that backs this bill is concrete and not even being battled, Frost said.

Butte County Environmental Council, while it has not taken a stand on the bill, supports legislation that protects land, air and water of Butte County, said Mark Stemen, Chair of BEC.

"Lead ammunition continues to threaten wildlife long after hunters leave an area," he said.

Spent lead ammunition, left-over from a shooting range that was developed in the 1950s and closed in the 1980s, had to be removed from Horseshoe Lake in upper Bidwell Park in 2005, he said.

Reach Juniper Rose at 896-7750, jrose@chicoer.com, or on Twitter @JuniperJRose.